Molecular Biology Commons^™

Increased Liver Tumor Formation In Neutral Sphingomyelinase-2-Deficient Mice, Liansheng Zhong, Ji Na Kong, Michael B. Dinkins, Silvia Leanhart, Zhihui Zhu, Stefka D. Spassieva, Haiyan Qin, Hsuan-Pei Lin, Ahmed Elsherbini, Rebecca Wang, Xue Jiang, Mariana N. Nikolova‑Karakashian, Guanghu Wang, Erhard Bieberich

Physiology Faculty Publications

Sphingolipids are key signaling lipids in cancer. Genome-wide studies have identified neutral SMase-2 (nSMase2), an enzyme generating ceramide from SM, as a potential repressor for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, little is known about the sphingolipids regulated by nSMase2 and their roles in liver tumor development. We discovered growth of spontaneous liver tumors in 27.3% (9 of 33) of aged male nSMase2-deficient (fro/fro) mice. Lipidomics analysis showed a marked increase of SM in the tumor. Unexpectedly, tumor tissues presented with more than a 7-fold increase of C₁₆-ceramide, concurrent with upregulation of ceramide synthase 5. The fro/fro liver tumor, …

Influence Of Dietary Ractopamine And Supranutritional Supplementation Of Vitamin E On Proteome Profile Of Postmortem Beef Longissimus Lumborum Muscle, Hyun Mok Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

The effects of dietary ingredients on the proteome profile of postmortem beef longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle were evaluated. In the first experiment, the influence of dietary ractopamine on the whole-muscle proteome of beef LL was examined. Five proteins were differentially abundant between ractopamine-fed (RAC) and non-ractopamine fed (CON) groups. The differentially abundant proteins were over-abundant in RAC and were related to muscle structure development (F-actin-capping protein subunit beta-2 and PDZ and LIM domain protein-3), chaperone (heat shock protein beta-1), oxygen transportation (myoglobin), and glycolysis (L-lactate dehydrogenase A chain). These findings indicated that ractopamine influences the abundance of proteins associated with …

Protein Engineering In The Study Of Protein Labeling And Degradation, Xinyi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Proteins are large macromolecules that play important roles in nature. With the development of modern molecular biology techniques, protein engineering has emerged as a useful tool and found many applications in areas ranging from food industry, environmental protection, to medical and life science. Biomimetic membrane incorporates biological elements, such as proteins, to form membranes that mimic the high specificity and conductance of natural biological membranes. For any application involving the usage of proteins, the first barrier is always the production of proteins with sufficient stability, and the incorporation of proteins into the artificial matrix. This thesis contains two major parts, …

Functional Characterization Of Scaffold Protein Shoc2, Hyein Jang

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Signaling scaffolds are critical for the correct spatial organization of enzymes within the ERK1/2 signaling pathway and proper transmission of intracellular information. However, mechanisms that control molecular dynamics within scaffolding complexes, as well as biological activities regulated by the specific assemblies, remain unclear.

The scaffold protein Shoc2 is critical for transmission of the ERK1/2 pathway signals. Shoc2 accelerates ERK1/2 signaling by integrating Ras and RAF-1 enzymes into a multi-protein complex. Germ-line mutations in shoc2 cause Noonan-like RASopathy, a disorder with a wide spectrum of developmental deficiencies. However, the physiological role of Shoc2, the nature of ERK1/2 signals transduced through this …

Assembly And Trafficking Of The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator And Associated Proteins, Zhihui Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease that leads to severe malfunction in many organs, but particularly the lungs. The primary cause of this malfunction is the decrease of the airway surface liquid layer on the lung epithelium. The lack of hydration leads to mucus build up on the epithelial lining, leading to blockage of airways. The underlying cause of CF is the dysfunction of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), which results from mutations in the protein. Almost 90% of CF patients are caused by the deletion of the phenylalanine at position 508 of CFTR, which …

Biosynthetic Mechanism Of The Antibiotic Capuramycin, Erfu Yan

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

A-102395 is a member of the capuramycin family of antibiotics which was isolated from the culture broth of Amycolatopsis sp. SANK 60206. A-102339 is structurally classified as a nucleoside antibiotic, which like all members of the capuramycin family, inhibits bacterial MraY (translocase I) with IC₅₀ of 11 nM which is the lowest among the capuramycin family. A semisynthetic derivative of capuramycin is currently in clinical trials as an antituberculosis antibiotic, suggesting high potential for using A-102395 as a starting point for new antibiotic discovery. In contrast to other capuramycins, A-102395 has a unique arylamine-containing polyamide side chain. The biosynthetic …

Role Of Glycerol-3-Phosphate Permeases In Plant Defense, Juliana Moreira Soares

Theses and Dissertations--Plant Pathology

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a type of plant defense mechanism that is induced after a localized infection and confers broad-spectrum immunity against related or unrelated pathogens. During SAR, a number of chemical signals and proteins generated at the site of primary infection travel to the uninfected tissues and are thought to alert the distal sites against secondary infections. Glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) is one of the chemical signals that play an important role in SAR. G3P is synthesized in the cytosol and chloroplasts via the enzymatic activities of G3P Dehydrogenase (G3Pdh) or Glycerol Kinase (GK). Interestingly, a mutation in three of …